Clarence Lelwyn Mabry found tennis by chance growing up in the dusty South Texas town of Alice, family members said. He sold magazine subscriptions with the hope of earning enough points for a bicycle but got a tennis racquet instead.

Mabry put it to good use.

He became a nationally ranked tennis player at the University of Texas at Austin toured the country selling war bonds while in the Navy with one of tennis' legendary players, Bill Tilden, built the tennis program at Trinity University into a national power, promoted the sport around the world, helped get the John Newcombe Tennis Ranch going in New Braunfels and was named to more than one sports hall of fame.

“He's kind of made his mark all over,” said Dena Mabry, one of his three daughters.

Mabry's success in turning a small disappointment into a major success illustrates the positive approach that characterized a man called the “Father of Trinity tennis” by the school, said daughter Terri Mabry.

“He felt that there's not a problem that can't be solved. You just need to look at it from a different point of view,” she said.

Clarence Mabry died in his Castle Hills home Jan. 26. He was 87.

Mabry was described by his daughters as a gentle man with a great wit who despite his busy schedule was always there for their activities. Past players said he combined an extensive knowledge of the game with an uncanny ability to communicate that made them want to follow his advice.

“He had a gift. He could see the things that were good in a person, and before long he had them believing,” said Butch Newman, an All-American player for Mabry in the 1960s who went on to coach tennis at Trinity and is now the university's tennis director.

“He really had an insight into what made you tick, probably more so than you did,” said Newman's older brother, John Newman, who was one of Mabry's first two scholarship players in 1956 and is now the tennis coach at the University of the Incarnate Word. “He didn't push any wrong buttons.”

During Mabry's tenure at Trinity from 1956-74, his teams won 319 matches against other schools and lost only 36, leaving Trinity as a top-four team in the NCAA 18 of those years. His team won the NCAA Division I Championship in 1972 and came in second in 1970 and '71.

Among his players were the late Chuck McKinley, 1963 Wimbledon champion, and 1972 NCAA singles champion Dick Stockton.Stockton, like countless others, said Mabry was like a father whom he counted on for advice during his career.